Sumita Vaid
Advertising

Beehive Communications bags advertising duties of Tourism Malaysia

The account, which entails both creative and media duties, is estimated at Rs 14 crore

Mumbai-based integrated communications agency, Beehive Communications, has won the advertising duties (both creative and media) of Tourism Malaysia. The size of the account is in the region of Rs 14 crore. Beehive Communications won the business on the back of a creative-cum-strategy pitch, which involved both Indian and global agencies. For the record, Tourism Malaysia's media duties will be in the charge of Beehive's in-house media team, headed by ex-Carat hand Sharmila Dennis.

Talking about the appointment of Beehive Communications, Manoharan Periasamy, director, Tourism Malaysia, says, "India is a critical market for us and we felt we needed an agency that has an in-depth understanding of the business. This is in line with our global strategy of working with communications partners that have invested time and energy in building domain expertise. After a scrutiny of several agencies, we found that the Beehive team came closest to our expectations." He adds, "We are heading for some exciting events this year. With the ongoing shopping festival, the upcoming Commonwealth Tourism Ministers' Conference and the Sepang F1 rally, Malaysia has lots of fun and excitement in store. It is in this context that we value the resurgent Indian market."

Beehive Communications' responsibilities would involve creating campaigns for both India and Sri Lanka. The mandate encompasses strategy, creative, and media, in addition to promotions and event-based public relations.

On its part, Beehive Communications is very excited about the win. "We are honoured that Malaysia Tourism chose us. Malaysia Tourism has pioneered the broad basing of international holidays in the Indian market with their value-for-money propositions. This year promises to be very exciting with an even more aggressive media and promotions campaign in store," says B Sanjit Shastri, CEO, Beehive Communications.

Himanshu Thakkar, vice-president, Beehive Communications, adds, "We understand the nuances of the tourism business as we have been continuously doing research into this segment that can turn economies. With a lot of churn in the Indian and Lankan markets, Malaysia can expect a big chunk of the tourism business. Our brief is to create top-of-the-mind awareness for Malaysia as a preferred foreign tourism destination." © 2004 agencyfaqs!

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